


if you'll be my star, i'll be your sky

by LuciferCaelestis



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Flying, M/M, Sheith Positivity Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 11:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11600016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuciferCaelestis/pseuds/LuciferCaelestis
Summary: Just because they're paladins now doesn't mean they can't go on dates, they're just a little...unusual now, that's all.Or: Shiro and Keith watch the stars and go flying together like they used to (only this time they're on an alien planet, galaxies away from earth).





	if you'll be my star, i'll be your sky

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this idea on and off for months, but at least I managed to finish it for Sheith Week. Title is from Boats & Birds by Gregory and the Hawk. Working title for this fic was 'define dancing' if you were curious. Unbeta'd so I may come back to edit it later.

The sound of music, alien and otherworldly as it is, does nothing to alleviate Shiro’s boredom, nor does the conversation he was having with a Tevari duke. Maybe a few years ago, before everything, he might have been more excited, eager to learn more about alien cultures and explore the universe laid out before him. Now, however, his enthusiasm has dampened a bit, especially after a long and trying battle they just barely won.

Exhaustion hovers at the back of his mind but he pushes it down with practiced ease. He doesn't begrudge the others their right to celebrate the victory of a battle hard fought, nor the Tevari the relief of freedom after who knows how long. Even if he wishes that he could just sleep for the next few years, there was no need to be rude.

Feigning interest to the conversation isn’t hard, not after all the practice he’s had applying his skills at formal events back at the Garrison. Nodding at all the right places when prompted, he searches for the rest of his team. There was no harm in being too careful and it was his job to look out for his teammates.

He spots Allura talking to the queen animatedly, probably discussing the terms of an alliance between them and reveling in another victory for their side, Coran ever-present by her side. Lance and Hunk are camped out by the buffet table, entertaining a bunch of younger Tevari with tales of Voltron’s exploits and enthusiastically acting out their previous battles. Hunk supports Lance perfectly, even making the appropriate sound effects to accompany the ‘battle’. After catching Shiro watching them, Hunk offers him a cheerful shrug before going back to his role of the Robeast and collapsing dramatically on the floor. 

He can’t see Pidge anywhere at the moment but he had seen her going off with the lead engineer to talk about one of her side-projects. He doesn’t know where Keith is, but he can guess where he went after ducking out of any conversations. He was probably standing guard close to the exit, protective as he always is after a battle.

“Excuse me, Your Grace. There’s an urgent matter I need to attend to at the moment. My apologies and thank you for the conversation.” Shiro bows out of the conversation with the noble he’s been talking to for the past half hour, hoping he’s not mortally offending anyone if he just leaves now. His diplomacy muscles are stretched thin already and the event won’t end for at least a few more hours. He’d thought that his tolerance for events like this was higher than that but apparently the Galra hadn’t done his patience much good.

 _Patience yields focus_ , he reminds himself. An alliance with the planet Tevar would be a great boon to their cause. The Tevari were said to be honorable and just, and fierce warriors to boot. There were worse people to be fighting with. Sadly, politics were just about the same everywhere, thus causing his annoyance.

He weaves through the crowd of people dancing and mingling, taking care not to bump into anyone and almost cause another diplomatic incident like the last time they’d attended a celebration in their honor.

He finds Keith outside the castle, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed just gazing at the sky. Keith doesn’t straighten when he approaches, only patting the space beside him for Shiro to join him.

“Hey,” he calls out, before settling in beside Keith and slipping his hand into Keith’s, intertwining their fingers.

“Hey yourself,” Keith replies, smile audible in his voice.

“What are you doing out here? Trying to avoid more conversation than your quota can handle?” he teases. Back at the Garrison, Keith had been a lot quieter before he and Shiro had gotten close, so Shiro used to tease him about having a quota for human interaction.

“Haha, very funny. You’re the pinnacle of wit, I may never recover,” Keith says dryly.

Shiro quirks an eyebrow and nudges Keith with his shoulder.

Keith sighs. "I was just thinking about the sky. It's so different from Earth. Do you remember when we used to stargaze on the roof of the Garrison? I don't think I could have ever imagined seeing so many stars in my life back then." His voice turns wistful, "did you ever think we would make it this far?"

"I don’t think I ever imagined anything like this," Shiro says quietly. “Couldn’t ask for better company though. There’s no one I’d rather be seeing this with.” He lifts Keith’s hand to his face and presses a kiss to it, before slowly bringing it down.

“No one else I’d rather be stuck in space with,” Keith agrees, looking down at their intertwined hands before flashing Shiro a small smile, looking utterly content for once.

They stargaze in silence for a while before Shiro spots hints of color in the sky, the dark atmosphere looking like it’s being lit up by lights.

"Is that an aurora?" Shiro asks, eyes wide in wonder.

"Huh? Oh yeah. You didn’t notice them earlier? I would have thought they’d be the first thing you’d notice." 

“I was a little distracted, you see, too busy looking at you,” he replies playfully.

This earns him a small blush from Keith, the red on his cheeks spreading to his ears.

Suddenly, Keith says, "remember how we used to say we'd visit Alaska after we graduated one day, just to watch the lights and think about our life together?"

“Yeah… I miss those days. Just you and me, and the stars.”

"Why don't we go now? It might not be Earth, but it’s as close as we’re going to get out here,” Keith gestures to their surroundings, “and we haven’t had any time for ourselves in so long. It's not like they'll miss us at the party, the others have us covered.”

"Keith..." Shiro says, hesitant to leave the castle in case of an emergency. His will was crumbling though at the sight of Keith’s face. The thought of some time to relax and enjoy the stars alone with Keith was enticing. But his sense of responsibility kept him from agreeing immediately. If there was a situation, he wanted to be there to resolve it.

As if he read Shiro’s mind, Keith states practically, “if there’s any trouble, we can be back in no time.” Sensing Shiro’s weakness, Keith moves in for the kill. “Who knows when we’ll have another chance like this, without any chance of the others interrupting.”

Shiro crumbled at that. As much as he loved the others, it was almost impossible to get much private time with Keith before they were interrupted for some reason or another. You’d think it would be a lot easier to avoid people in a huge castle, but it really wasn’t.

“Alright,” he conceded, admitting defeat. There was no way he would win over Keith but it was hard to regret losing after seeing the brilliant smile on Keith’s face.

“Come on,” Keith says, looking around to make sure no one could see them, brave paladins and defenders of the universe, sneaking away from a party like rebellious teenagers. Shiro is suddenly reminded of the past, sneaking out from formal events at the Garrison so they could talk alone, dodging patrols and curfew to sneak into each other’s rooms, memories of them doing stuff like this even way back then, before everything got complicated.

Keith gives him a confused look, like ‘why are you laughing all of a sudden’ and he responds in between muffled laughter, “we just haven’t changed a bit, that’s all.” 

_It really is funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Even now, just you and me together, it’s the happiest I’ve ever been_ , he thinks.

As they walk, he takes in the scenery, letting go of the last of the tension that’s built up over the past few days. The landscape of the planet is beautiful, towering crystalline structures reflecting their every move and gleaming crystal formations on the ground, it was a wonder to behold; even after seeing the remnants of the Galra’s occupation. As far as he knew, the Galra had mined Tevari crystals for decoration and trading purposes. Had they been able to supply energy like Balmeran crystals, there was no doubt the Galra would have taken every last bit, leaving their fields barren and empty.

This was all he’d ever dreamed of, exploring the stars with Keith by his side, going where no one has gone before. He’d thought he had lost any chance of it, but now, maybe… Maybe he wouldn’t have to give up so soon. There was still the future, _he_ still had a future, and he didn’t have to face it alone. Not anymore.

When Keith slows down to a stop, the motion breaks him from his reverie. Glancing at Keith questioningly, he looks up after Keith nudges him. The sight of the aurora steals his breath away. He feels small for a moment, blessedly insignificant to the universe in all the ways that matter. 

Green merges with blue merges with pink, a whole new spectrum of light blending and fading into each other, colors he couldn’t recognize all making up one of the most beautiful sights he’s ever seen.

"They’re beautiful..." he says, turning to look at Keith. He’s stunned when he sees the lights reflected in Keith’s eyes, the colors bringing out the intensity of his violet irises, and his face is lit up, making him look otherworldly and alien. “So very beautiful…” he trails off.

"Yeah, they really are." Keith must have sensed something in Shiro's voice because he blushes and replies, "Stop looking at me, you dork, we're supposed to be looking at the lights. You can look at me any other time."

"Yeah, but when else can I see you like this, lit up in all your glory by lights and surrounded by the stars we both love?" he says, caressing Keith’s cheek with all the care he is capable of.

Keith leans into the touch, bringing their faces closer together. “Shiro, I-” he says before the words seem to be stuck in his throat. “I just wanted-” He knows that Keith had trouble with voicing his feelings, preferring to rely on action instead but it still doesn’t make it any easier to witness his struggle. Keith’s eyes are despairing, screaming _why did it have to be so hard just to say how I feel?_

Releasing Keith’s face, Shiro touches his shoulder gently. “It’s ok, you don’t have to tell me now,” he says, sensing Keith’s frustration with himself.

He watches Keith wrestle it down, taking several deep breaths to calm himself. He could have sworn he heard a whisper of ‘patience yields focus’ coming from Keith but chalks it up to him hearing things.

Keith still looks guilty, thinking he’s ruined the moment before he looks around quickly and considers his options before his eyes light up with an idea. He taps Shiro on the arm, shouting, “tag, you’re it!”, before activating his jetpack and flying off.

Shiro stares wide-eyed as Keith comes to a stop, hovering too far for him to reach without activating his own jetpack. 

“Keith?” 

“Come on! We used to do this in our hoverbikes, remember? We can’t do that now, but we do have the next best thing!”

Faint memories of windblown hair and dust in his face as he and Keith raced in the desert fly through his mind, nostalgia spurring him on to take up Keith’s challenge.

“Are you sure this is safe without our helmets?”

“It’s completely fine, I asked Allura about it earlier. Apparently, the Tevari have similar physiology to humans and they’ve encased their planet with an atmospheric bubble kind of like Earth to protect themselves, so come on!”

Unable to resist indulging Keith’s playfulness, he activates his own jetpack, smiling when he hears Keith giggling as he flies away.

"Catch me if you can, Takashi!"

Natural competitiveness rearing its head, he heads straight for Keith. Keith of course, knows better than to make it easy for Shiro to catch him. He twists and he turns, making dangerous leaps and plunges and pulling them off like it’s child’s play.

When Shiro flies heading straight for Keith, so very close to catching him, Keith abruptly flies the opposite direction, knowing that Shiro can’t make a turn fast enough to reach him in time. The race continues like that, Shiro coming closer and closer but still being foiled for one reason or another.

Keith swoops down as Shiro chases after him, getting perilously close to the ground before pulling up sharply, laughing all the while. Shiro, after narrowly avoiding hitting the ground, couldn’t help but admire Keith's natural talent for flying. It didn't matter what manner of flight, as long as he was in the air, Keith soared as freely as a bird.

He spares a moment to think about whether or not the jetpacks could handle the strain of their chase but they appeared to be holding up admirably.

Then he comes up with a plan. There was no way he could match Keith in the air, Keith was just too fast for that, but if he couldn’t catch Keith, maybe he could trick Keith into coming to him instead. So he disappears, hiding behind one of the many columns of rocks that surround the place. Shiro just stays still, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Keith would be getting tired soon after all his acrobatic displays and he would come looking for Shiro. That’s when he would strike.

He sees Keith flying past him, looking around for Shiro no doubt, and grabs him, the force of it sending them spinning across the sky. He laughs in delight as Keith nuzzles into his chest, happy as ever to have finally been caught.

He won.

Once they stop spinning, Keith laughs at him. “What took you so long?”

Shiro pouts. They hadn’t set any rules for this game, so it doesn’t really matter how long it took him to catch Keith. _Really._ He’d caught Keith, fair and square. "Never mind how long it took, what will I do with you now that I've caught you?" he teases, leaning in to further emphasize his point.

"I don't know, what _will_ you do?" Keith smirks.

“I've decided what my prize should be. Your eternal love and gratitude sounds nice,” he announces, trying to mask his nervousness.

“Oh? But how would that be fair?” Keith plays along, fighting to keep from laughing.

“Seems fair to me. You captured my heart a long time ago.”

He leans in even closer to Keith, bringing their foreheads together. Suddenly he realizes what Keith was trying to say earlier, what he’s been trying to say this entire time. It’s only fair that he reciprocates.

“I love you,” he breathes out. He’s never felt so close to Keith before, and he wishes they could stay like this forever, just him and Keith pressed as closely together as possible.

Keith’s eyes widen and his cheeks go pink. His mouth falls open a bit, speechless but his eyes are full of love, and he’s the most beautiful thing Shiro has ever seen, the lone star that brightened his sky. 

“I love you too,” Keith says, devastating sincerity in every word. “More than you’ll ever know.” Having said what he wanted to, Keith buries his face in the crook of Shiro’s neck and wraps his arms around Shiro.

“I think I have an idea,” Shiro admits, bringing his arms around Keith. “Let’s agree to disagree?”

He can feel Keith’s flustered nod as Keith clings even tighter to him, unwilling to budge a single inch.

Shiro watches fondly as Keith lets go of Shiro, a dazed look taking over Keith’s face as he floats away dreamily when the situation finally sinks in. 

When Keith finally regains his equilibrium, he physically shakes off his daze, the force of it sending him spinning in circles. After he’s recovered, he flies away, whooping in delight. He cocks his head towards Shiro, inviting him to fly with him.

Their first flight was a chase, this one though, it could only be described as a dance.

They trade off on who leads, with Keith leading them through the alien geysers and Shiro taking over seamlessly as they fly just below the lights. They twist and spin, each step coming perfectly naturally, a dance full of love and joy.

Together they fly across the sky, feeling young and in love.

 

***** 

 

He and Lance had left the party in good spirits, hoping to see the lights they’d heard about from the kids they’d been talking to earlier. Lance had been hoping it would be a good reminder, a balm to soothe his heartache as a reminder of Earth and Hunk had tagged along to keep him company. When they were finally close enough to see the lights, he was surprised to see two figures flying across the sky.

“Wait, is that- Is that Shiro and Keith? Flying all over the place?” Lance exclaims, squinting at the sky.

“I think so? I can't really see for sure. Good for them, I knew they wanted to get some alone time after I saw Shiro sneak out to look for Keith, ” Hunk replies.

“No wonder I haven't seen the mullet around! He's been slacking off and seducing Shiro into joining him. There's no way our fearless leader would just up and leave like that if he wasn't involved!”

“Wait, you knew about their relationship?” Hunk is pretty surprised, Lance had never given any indication that he knew or even cared for that matter. He’s even more surprised that Lance hadn’t announced it in an effort to needle Keith in some way.

“Yeah, it's kinda hard not to, considering Shiro's the only person he listens to and Shiro doesn't just touch anyone like that. Not to mention their sparring, it's more like foreplay than anything else,” Lance says like it should be obvious to anyone who could see them.

Pidge pops out of nowhere, interjecting, “you had no idea I was a girl and we had known each other for months so forgive us for thinking you wouldn’t catch it this time.” His offended look at that makes her snicker. 

“But you’re right, it is obvious. Every time they look at each other there's all these layers and history. I heard about them from Matt before but I didn't know how bad they were until now,” she continues, before disappearing as suddenly as she came.

“Are they really doing the romantic flight across the night sky thing?” Lance looks like he can’t believe what he’s seeing.

“At least there's no magic carpet?” Hunk offers, shrugging at the horrified look Lance gives him.

“Oh god, they’re probably serenading each other with Disney songs. I'm never gonna get the image of _Keith_ singing out of my head, thanks, Hunk.”

“No problem, buddy. Why don't we go get something to eat now, get your mind off it.” Patting Lance’s back, Hunk carefully steers him inside. His teammates deserved some privacy, even if they looked too absorbed in each other to notice anything else around them.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if anyone could guess, but this fic was partially inspired by the wall-e flying scene. Please comment and tell me what you liked about it.


End file.
